The revaluation of gold, close to 10% in one year, has not only triggered interest in investing in this precious metal, but also in obtaining liquidity through the sale of jewelry, coins and bars. The ounce is close to 2,000 dollars, after reaching highs on December 4, while the gram is paid for 60 euros in the wholesale market, a price never seen in the last decade.
Geopolitical instability, with the war conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine in the background, along with inflation, the fall of the dollar and the recent celebration of Diwali in India, explain the rising behavior of the price of this metal, a traditional refuge value in times of uncertainty. A trend that is taken for granted in the long term, but that could change in the short term. For this reason, Javier Molina, market analyst at eToro, advises “caution” when investing with a short-term time horizon, since it is difficult to obtain immediate profits as is the case with other types of assets.
In the long term, “gold helps diversify, protects against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.” However, there are other investments that far exceed the average profitability – 5% per year – that it has achieved in a decade, such as the S index.
In a time like the current one in which there are significant increases in its price, “the natural tendency of the market would be to sell and liquidate the profit,” says Raquel Herrero, leader of the precious metals operations team at StoneX Bullion. In fact, in recent days the logic of profit-taking has prevailed in the market after the rebound that last December 4 pushed the price of this asset above $2,100 per ounce.
At the same time, Herrera points out that “interest is also emerging” in physically purchasing this metal, for example through the acquisition of coins and ingots. “The closest thing to the price of the metal is possibly the price you pay for a gold bar, especially the larger it is,” he points out.
In this sense, the question may arise as to whether the purchase of jewelry made of gold should be considered an investment. “No,” he answers flatly. The reason is that, when purchasing a product with this characteristic, the buyer pays “a very high extra cost” for the brand or design. However, there is an exception: it could be considered an investment when purchasing a piece of jewelry from a luxury brand or made by an artist.
Although in general the purchase of jewelry as an investment does not pay off, the truth is that the consumer can obtain some liquidity by selling it, especially when the price of gold is at its highest. Many of them “do not have knowledge of the dynamics of the gold market and its constant movement, so this last month they have been pleasantly surprised to see that their gold is worth much more than they had in mind,” he comments. Montse Fernández, head of administration at Valoro 1950.
Firstly, the establishment verifies through a procedure in which “a touchstone” is used the purity of the gold with which the jewel is made. For ingots or coins, the “densiometer” is used, explains Fernández. Once the purity of the metal and its weight have been determined, the product is valued, for which the price fluctuation in the wholesale market is taken into account.
According to Valoro’s online calculator, a gram of 24k gold was paid on Wednesday, December 13, at 54 euros; the 22k, at 49 euros; the 18k, 38 euros, and the 14k, 26 euros. Likewise, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) also has an online calculator for the price of a gram of gold according to what is set by the London wholesale market. Evidently, establishments that buy gold from individuals offer lower prices by discounting their margin, which industry sources assure is “very tight.”
